Kicking off the second phase of his Mahajanadesh Yatra in northern Maharashtra, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday hit out at Pakistan and termed the revocation of Article 370 as the “long-cherished dream of every Indian”.

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“Prime Minister Narendra Modi has defeated the devious design of Pakistan to divide India and separate Kashmir. Today, by scrapping Article 370, we have ensured that Kashmir is an integral part of India,” he said while speaking at public rallies at Nandurbar and Dondaicha.

At the rally in Nandurbar, which was once a Congress stronghold, Fadnavis also told opposition parties to introspect as to why their leaders were quitting.

“The answer does not lie in politics. The reason is, those joining hands with BJP are beginning to see our resolve to transform Maharashtra,” he said.

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Bharat Gavit, son of senior Congress leader Manikrao Gavit, and Deepak Patil, son of the late leader P K Anna Patil, joined BJP at Nandurbar in Fadnavis’ presence.

Fadnavis also continued to highlight the state government’s development initiatives, saying, “Maharashtra is ready to compete with the world’s most advanced and developed nations, having set the wheels of reforms to bridge the rural and urban divide in the last five years.”

The chief minister started the yatra from Dhule district, which is often referred to as communally sensitive. At every meeting, the focus was on presenting the state BJP government’s roadmap and achievements.

“…our government has transformed the face of tribal belts across Nandurbar, Amravati and Palghar. Policies with adequate funds have helped tackle malnourishment. We provided livelihood alternatives to empower tribals,” he said.

In Dondaicha, he said Maharashtra had made significant strides in the last five years to bridge the rural and urban divide. “Today, it is the leading state in the country in almost all sectors… In the education sector, we have improved our ranking from 18th to third and in health we are third in the country. In the next few years, we will make it to number one,” he said.